Ozpin sipped his coffee, looking over a variety of student records.

"Clark Kent." Said Ozpin, "The boy seems mostly unremarkable, small-town upbringing. Though his physical abilities far outmatch the rest of his class. Definitely an odd one."

Ozpin moved on to another record.

"Bruce Wayne." Said Ozpin, "Lived a life of wealth and security until the night he lost his parents. Murderer appeared to be a faunus with known ties to the White Fang. Wayne disappeared around age 12 and reappeared around age 16. I'm unsure as to why he's here at Beacon though."

Ozpin flipped to another two records.

"Oliver Queen and Victor Stone." Said Ozpin, "Queen led a privileged life, making sure to flaunt it whenever he could. But at age 15 he went missing for a year, upon his return, he appeared a different person. Stone is the son of a well-known scientist, highly intelligent and in good physical shape. He'll be a good pick."

"Ozpin!"

Glynda Goodwitch quickly strode into the room, carrying a collection of photos.

"Something troubling has happened." Said Glynda.

"Yes Glynda," said Ozpin, "Is the coffee machine broken? That would be a tragedy."

Glynda tossed the collection of photos on the desk, each depicting a masked figure shooting different targets. One involved a ricochet shot into a helicopter cockpit while another disabled a police van.

"Try an insane gun-toting assassin hunting our students." Said Glynda.

Ozpin's facial expression remained blank as he rearranged his glasses, "That is troubling."

"Shouldn't you be more worried?" asked Glynda.

"I am worried," said Ozpin, his voice as monotone as it could be, "can't you tell?"

Glynda sighed, "I've made plans on handing him to the Vale police, they'll pick him up in a few days."

"It seems that Ms. Rose has made a dangerous enemy already." Wondered Ozpin aloud, "I'm sorry, you obviously need something from me. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I need to know where we should put him until they take him." Said Glynda, "Any suggestions?"

Ozpin didn't hesitate, "Just stick him in the walk-in freezer, He should be good for a few days."

Glynda nodded, "You should learn more about this one, he's extremely dangerous."

Ozpin nodded, "Thank you for the pictures Ms. Goodwitch, I'm sure they'll be useful."

Glynda nodded before making her exit, leaving Ozpin to sort through the photos, "Well, he's certainly creative."

Bruce typed away at his laptop again, isolated in his little corner. While one would think that he was researching Black Mask, he was actually investigating another case.

The case of Blake Belladonna.

While Blake had agreed to join Bruce and Clark's mission, Bruce wasn't so sure he wanted Blake on the team. Mostly due to the fact that she was a faunus in hiding, and had a history with the White Fang.

Belladonna, White Fang, I've heard those names together before.

Bruce searched for the name, specifically in conjunction with the White Fang. The search brought up names and photographs of a family of faunus, specifically a family consisting of a large burly man, a woman with cat ears, and a small girl that also had cat ears.

I recognize the big guy, Ghira Belladonna, former high leader of the White Fang, at least before the organization became violent. I probably should have guessed they'd be related.

Bruce frowned.

But both Ghira and his wife Kali rejected the new violent ways, it explains her connection to the White Fang, but not her combat training.

Looking further, Bruce pulled up footage of a factory break-in. He observed as hooded figures hopped from rooftop to rooftop, pausing at a specific moment, while one of the figures was leaping. Bruce examined the figure, the physical way he or she was jumping.

That's definitely her.

Bruce attempted to pore over more footage, but couldn't find anything else more than a year old.

Hmph? Activity ceased a while ago.

Bruce shut the laptop, going to bed.

She's been involved in illegal activity involving the White Fang, but it appears she walked away a year ago. Possibly a change of heart?

"Bruce…What happened to you?" said Victor.

"I fell." Replied Bruce.

The four sat at a table at lunch, eating with team JNPR and RWBY.

"Are you sure?" said Oliver, "Because it looks a lot worse."

"Oliver," said Bruce, "I don't need a nanny."

"I am not a nanny." Said Oliver, "I'm a philanthropist."

"Real philanthropists probably wouldn't boast about it." Said Ren.

"Hey," said Oliver, "I didn't boast about it."

"Pretty sure you did Ollie." Said Jaune.

"Why does everyone hate me." Said Oliver, "I feel like you guys are ganging up on me."

"Not really, but it is fun to tease you." Said Yang before wincing a little, "God, I wish I didn't sprain my ankle back in Forever Fall."

"Take a bath in cold water for about an hour, that should help." Said Oliver.

"I'll take a professional opinion thank you." Said Yang before pulling out her scroll, "How. To. Fix. Sprained. Foot."

"You don't have to say what you're typing out loud." Said Oliver, "Besides, I can tell you from literally hundreds of sprained feet that cold water bath is the best option."

"Hundreds?" said Yang, "I don't believe that."

"Believe what you want lady, I'm just saying you should take my advice." Said Oliver, "You look hungry, want some chili?"

"NO!" said Yang, "I'm not making that mistake again!"

"What mistake?!" said Oliver, looking at his food, "What's wrong with my chili?!"

As Oliver began to have an existential crisis, Ruby asked Bruce a question.

"Hey Bruce, is your leg really ok?" asked Ruby, "Why didn't your aura protect you?"

"Yes, it's fine." Said Bruce, "and I wasn't concentrating, though he also had a dust enhanced bullet."

"Wow, you were lucky he didn't shoot you someplace else," said Ruby.

"True, I should've acted faster to take him down," said Bruce.

"Wait a minute!" erupted Nora, who for some reason as eating pancaked for lunch, "We don't know what your semblances are!"

Team BSCO looked at each other in confusion, "Is it really that important?"

"Actually, if we ever team up in the field, it would be useful to learn this stuff." Said Jaune, "Maybe we should show each other in the arena after classes."

"Mine's not exactly flashy, you guys might be unimpressed." Said Victor, "Maybe we should put it up to a vo-"

"Nope!" said Nora, "It's decided, you're all coming this afternoon!"

The rest of the table looked at Nora in disbelief. While most people would find that forceful statement annoying, Nora's sheer enthusiasm convinced practically everybody.

"All right," said Ruby, "Let's do it!"

"Bruce?" said Clark.

"I concur," said Bruce, "It's a good opportunity to increase team cohesion."

"Alright!" shouted Nora with enthusiasm, "Who wants to go first?!"

The 3 teams stood around in the empty arena, talking amongst themselves as to who would go first.

"I'll go first!" said Ruby with enthusiasm.

Ruby stretched her arms and legs before starting to run. After a few seconds of running, she transitioned into a strange mass of roses, going faster than the eye could see. However, just as she turned into a wall, a glyph of ice formed beneath her, slowing her to a stop.

"Woah!" said Ruby.

Weiss stepped forward, "Our leader should look out for where she's going!"

"Wow!" said Clark, "You're pretty, uh, fast."

"Yep!" said Ruby, "There's a little dose of teleportation in there too! I doubt anyone could hit me while using my semblance!"

"And mine allows me to form ice glyphs." Said Weiss, "They can slow things down or speed them up depending on my choice."

"Now, now." Said Oliver, "That's all well and good, but I think it's time for me to show off."

"Really?" said Weiss, "And what can you do?"

"It requires a practical demonstration," said Oliver before turning to the rest of the group, "Any volunteers?"

The rest of the room wasn't as enthusiastic as Oliver, most of them milled around uncomfortably.

"Hey!" said Oliver, "Where'd the energy go, I didn't know all these huntsmen and huntresses were afraid of a few arrows."

"Fine," said Yang, "I'll do it."

Oliver smiled, "Thank you, Yang."

Oliver reached into his coat, pulling out 3 apples and a handing two to Yang.

"What are these for?" asked Yang, "Do I stack them on my head?"

"Kinda." Said Oliver, "I want you to put one on your head, and on my mark, throw the second one into the air."

"What?!" said Yang, "And you're gonna try to hit both at once?"

"No," said Oliver, taking a bite out of the apple in his hand, "I'm gonna hit all three at once."

"You can't be serious." Said Yang.

"Oh, I am." Said Oliver, stepping to the side and facing Yang from a diagonal angle, "Oh, and don't face me, it's part of the demonstration."

Yang, while worried, put the apple on her head.

Oliver smirked, "Go!"

As Yang and Oliver threw their respective apples into the air, Oliver nocked an arrow in his bow, drawing back the string. As the apples fell, Oliver took a deep breath as he released the string. The arrow punctured the first apple almost immediately, but to everyone's surprise, the arrow curved midflight, puncturing the second and third apples before embedding itself in the arena wall.

"What. Was. That?!" said Yang.

"That," said Oliver, "was my semblance! I can manipulate the path of objects launched from my person!"

"So you aren't actually a good archer?" said Yang.

"No I- I am a good archer!" said Oliver, "I just use this semblance to make shots physics normally won't let me."

"That's…really cool actually!" said Yang.

"Aw, thanks Y!" said Oliver

"Y?" said Yang.

"You know, short for Yang!" said Oliver, "Like Ollie!"

"I refuse to go by a nickname with one letter." Said Yang.

"What? Is Yanny a better nickname?" said Oliver.

"That's even longer!" said Yang.

"Did you come here to fraternize or to show each other your semblance?" asked Bruce, "My team's only here for the experience, we should focus on that."

"Heh, sorry!" said Yang, "And since I'm already up here."

Yang pointed at Clark, "Clark! Use your semblance on me!"

"Huh?!" yelped Clark, surprised by the sudden request, "I don't think that's a good idea, I could cook you alive!"

"That's what aura is for!" said Yang, "Besides, this is for my semblance!"

Clark looked at the other team members, but the nods from team RWBY were enough to convince him.

"Alright, I'll start on one, two," said Clark, his eyes glowing red, "Three!"

Rays of heat shot from Clark's eyes, hitting Yang as she stood her ground, crossing her wrists to guard herself.

"Jeez!" said Jaune, "That's some insane heat!"

"Yeah, I once got him to cook popcorn with it." Said Oliver, "On another subject, what's your semblance Jaune?"

"Oh, mine?" said Jaune, rubbing the back of his head, "I don't exactly know yet, I have to keep experimenting."

"You'll get it eventually Jaune!" said Pyrrha, before turning to Victor, "Hey, I could use your help demonstrating my semblance, wanna partner up?"

"Oh, sure!" said Victor, "No problem."

"This is taking forever!" said Yang, "You gotta hit me harder!"

"Are you serious!" said Clark, "No way! I could-"

"Just do it!" shouted Yang.

Almost immediately, the size of the rays enlarged as Yang was blasted off her feet into the side of the arena.

"Holy Crap!" said Clark, ceasing the attack, "Are you ok Yang?!"

"Fine." Said Yang, her hair glowing a bright yellow as she got onto her feet.

"Is your hair on fire?!" said Clark, "I can help put it-"

Yang launched herself at Clark, delivering a right hook that sent Clark flying into the other side of the Arena.

Clark groaned as he picked himself up, dusting the rubble off his body, "ow."

"That's my semblance!" said Yang, "Every hit I take, I can turn into strength for me!"

"Every time you get hit, you get stronger?" said Clark, "That's amazing!"

"Yup!" said Nora, "Mine's the same, though I have to get electrocuted instead of getting hit!"

"My semblance involves masking negative feelings." Said Ren, "It's impossible to demonstrate physically, so that description should suffice."

"And mine is, well, I guess I'll just show you guys." Said Victor, taking to the arena center with Pyrrha.

"What's she up there for?" asked Jaune.

"I'm helping her demonstrate her semblance." Said Victor, "She asked me too."

"Why don't you show yours first Victor." Said Pyrrha.

"Right, right." Said Victor, holding up his Omni-tool, "Here we go."

Taking a deep breath, Victor held his Omni-tool up so that people could get a better view of it. After a few seconds, electricity sparked around the tool, recharging it.

"Was that it?" asked Weiss.

"Afraid so." Said Victor, "I can generate a little electricity, not so much that I can fire bolts of lightning and kill people, but I can recharge my Omni-tool every now and then."

"It's still useful." Said Blake.

"It is." Said Victor before turning to Pyrrha, "Now, what's your deal?"

Without saying a word, Pyrrha lifted her hand. In sync with her movements, Victor's Omni-tool floated into the air, pulling Victor up with it.

"What the?!" said Victor.

"Satisfied?" asked Pyrrha, dropping her hand and letting Victor land on his feet.

"You've gotta be kidding!" said Victor, his eyes wide in shock, "That's how you beat me! You've got control over metal! No matter what I did, you could've waved your hand and made any attack useless!"

"It's an overexaggerating," said Pyrrha, "But you get the idea."

Victor mentally kicked himself as the two moved out of the center.

"And then there were two." Said Yang, looking at Blake and Bruce.

Blake stepped forward.

"I'll go first." Said Blake.

Blake closed her eyes as a shadow clone emerges from her body to the awe of the others.

"They can be used as distractions or to take a hit for me." Said Blake, "Now can we get this over with, this is feeling more and more like a waste of time."

"Wow," said Oliver, "That must be really useful during-"

"Oliver!" said Victor, "Don't say it."

"What?" said Oliver.

"Just. Don't," said Victor.

Blake looked to Bruce as he nodded and stepped into the center of the arena. Bruce closed his eyes and clenched his fists, and at first nothing seemed to happen. However, the other team members began to notice something. At first, it was the heightened heartbeat, then it was the beads of sweat running down their foreheads, then the increasingly rapid breathing. Soon enough, the entire arena was enveloped in an aura of terror. But, as fast as the feeling set in, it went away entirely.

"What," said Jaune, "was that? I thought I was going to have a heart attack."

"That was extremely uncomfortable." Said Weiss, "Was that your semblance?"

"Yes." Said Bruce, "My semblance allows me to trigger a … spike in fear."

"How's that useful against grimm?" asked Ruby.

"It isn't." said Bruce, "But grimm aren't the only thing that's dangerous."

The statement didn't exactly make everyone comfortable. In fact, it killed the conversation entirely.

"So, um," said Nora, "who's ready for dinner?"

"That was certainly not as pleasant as I expected." Said Weiss.

"You could say that again." Said Ruby.

Team RWBY was in their dorm room, getting ready for bed. As the four settled in, Blake got a message on her scroll.

Fountain, mission meeting, now.

"Guys," said Blake, looking up from her scroll, "I'm gonna go take a walk before bed."

"Alright!" said Yang, "Be safe out there!"

"Thanks." Said Blake before she walked out the door.

The broken moon bathed the fountain in blue light, illuminating the two boys in front of it.

"Bruce, she's totally coming right?" asked Clark.

"Be patient Clark," said Bruce, "she'll be here."

Soon, a third figure entered the moonlight, a girl with a bow on her head.

"There she is." Said Clark.

"Yes," said Blake, "Here I am, now what's the plan going forward."

Bruce stepped forward, "I wasn't able to get anything out of Deadshot before we handed him over to Goodwitch, there wasn't enough time before people would get suspicious."

Bruce stepped forward, laying out a map, "So I placed a prototype tracer beacon on his person, which leads here," said Bruce, placing his finger on the freezer, "they've stuffed him in a freezer until he can be picked up by the police, which is why I plan on questioning him beforehand."

"What's our part?" asked Clark.

"Clark, you'll stand guard for me," said Bruce, "I need your good eyes and ears."

"And me?" asked Blake.

"Forgive me, but I'm a little apprehensive about a new team member." Said Bruce, "I need to do some more research on you."

"Research?" said Blake, "What's there to research?"

"You." said Bruce, "I'm not sure I can trust you."

"Why?" said Blake, "I haven't said or done anything suspicious."

"Bruce?" said Clark, "Is this because of the-"

"Clark!" said Bruce, "Don't reveal anything!"

"Reveal what exactly?" said Blake, "Because as far as I can tell, you're just being really paranoid."

"I have good reason to suspect you," said Bruce, "but you'll have to bear with us."

Blake sighed, pacing around the fountain, "So you just brought me out here to tell me I'm under investigation?"

"Unfortunately, yes," said Bruce.

Blake glared at Bruce, "Then how about this, you tell me why you're doing this."

Bruce looked at Blake, "What?"

"Tell me why you want to take down Black Mask." said Blake, "I wanna know if I'm signing up for some rich kids violent heroic fantasy."

Bruce grimaced, "...fine."

Standing up, Bruce looked out over the Beacon grounds, "When my parents died...Well, were murdered. I wasn't just sad, I was lost, I didn't know where to go. So the night they died, I walked up to their portrait in the manor. I reflected on how they died, how meaningless it was."

Bruce turned to Blake, "That's when I made a vow. A vow that nobody, no other little boy, would have to watch anyone die a meaningless death again."

Bruce walked up to Blake, who stood her ground, "Black Mask churns out senseless deaths by the hundreds every year. He fills the harbor with bodies and deals poison to every street corner. You can't always see it, but the disease is there. I'm here to cure it."

Blake narrowed her eyes, "Funny, I knew a guy who's just like you. He was relentless in his drive for that kind of justice."

Blake turned away, leaving the fountain, "But like most people with that kind of drive, he went too far."

Black Mask held a single green bullet in his hands, twisting it and observing it from every angle in his office.

"What makes you so special?" said Black Mask.

"Sionis!"

Black Mask sighed as he placed the bullet back in its box as Roman Torchwick entered the room.

"Deadshot failed." Said Torchwick, "You made the wrong choice."

"You can't be serious." Said Black Mask, "Lawton's the best shot on Remnant."

"The best shot with a rule against killing Minors." Said Torchwick, "I knew the Red Hood Gang was a better idea."

"They would have made a damn mess of things." Said Black Mask, "Besides, Lawton will carry out the hit, he knows what's at stake, or to be more specific, who."

"Who?" said Torchwick, "You've got a family member of his?"

"Daughter," said Black Mask, "barely 10, couldn't put up a fight."

"Good, then the Red Hood Gang can guard her." Said Torchwick.

"What is your damn obsession with the Red Hood Gang?!" said Black Mask.

"I wouldn't call it an obsession," said a new voice, "I've just been badgering him to give us something to do."

Black mask and Torchwick turned to find A man in a tuxedo leaning in the corner of the office. He wore a red cape and a large shiny red dome for a helmet.

"You," said Black Mask, "You're the Red Hood Gang leader."

"Yessiree!" said the man, "I am! Red Hood One!"

"What are you doing in my office?!" said Black Mask, "Do you know who I am?!"

"Yes Mr. Sionis," said Red Hood One, "I know exactly who you are."

"Then you know what I'll do to you if you threaten me." Said Black Mask.

"It's unfortunate," said Red Hood One, ignoring Black Mask's words, "What happened out there, in the streets I mean."

"What are you on about?" asked Black Mask.

"I'm talking about the fact that you use Junior's gang of idiots." Said Red Hood One, "They got beaten by a shirtless farm boy, a little girl, and a mysterious ninja."

"It wasn't a ninja," said Torchwick, "It was Bruce Way-"

"Sh Sh Sh." Said Red Hood One, "I don't want to know his name, more fun that way."

"What the hell do you want." Asked Black Mask.

Red Hood One walked up to the desk, a murderous smile on his face, "I want you to put me on security detail for the girl."

"Why?" asked Black Mask, "What makes you think you're more capable than the men I have right now?"

"Because we didn't get our asses beat by a teenager," said Red Hood One.

Black Mask stared Red Hood One down, "You only answered one of the questions, Why do you want that particular detail?"

Red Hood One formed a devious smile, "Because I have a hunch, and if that hunch is right, I'll be one happy guy?"

"What hunch is that?" asked Black Mask.

"Oh, that's only for him to know." Said Red Hood One, "See, I've met him before, the ninja I mean. He's something, isn't he."

"Sure." Said Torchwick.

"I want to meet him again, and assuming I do, figure out his deal." Said Red Hood One, "So there, I assume you have no reason to refuse?"

Black Mask stared at the red helmet on Red Hood One's head, "You're insane, but you're better than Junior's Guppies."

"Ah, thank you." Said Red Hood One, taking his leave, "I won't forget this!"

As the door closed, Black Mask looked at Torchwick, "I better not regret this, or it's your head."

Torchwick lit a cigar, "Trust me, you made the right call."

Super sorry this took so long. One reviewer brought up a plot hole that I had to address this chapter by having a showcase of aura's, though I made some edit's In the previous chapter. Aura is kinda inconsistent in RWBY (For Example, Ren can withstand the bite force of a snake grimm but Qrow got cut by Tyrian's scorpion tail despite not showing any signs of exhaustion.) But I don't want to use that as an excuse. Anyway, here it is.

Reviews:

DCDGojira: The Vote is over, Blake won, but Weiss is still an important character to Bruce's arc. Weiss vs Oliver is sounds cool. Penguin may enter the story at a later point. I've read a little bit of Eden's Zero.

Thanks for the feedback!

FinchFlyingAce: Thanks for bringing this up, I talked about it above.

Thanks for the feedback!

MasterCheif1229: Thanks for the compliments and the feedback!

Rewrites: Blake doesn't know Bruce is aware of her identity, and this is a conscious change to better pace the story. Bruce is also less of a jerk again, and he's more of a detective. I feel that his explanation here is less forceful and makes a better impact as well.

Next Chapter: Interrogation.